Oklahoma court orders new sentence in Australian's killing

FILE - In this April 17, 2015 file photo, Chancey Luna answers a question for the media as he is led from the courthouse to the jail after being convicted in the death of Christopher Lane in Duncan, Okla. An Oklahoma appeals court on Friday, Dec. 2, 2016, ordered a new sentencing for Luna who has been serving a life in prison without parole term for the fatal shooting of Lane, an Australian baseball player three years ago. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki File)
(The Associated Press)

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma appeals court has thrown out the life sentence given to a teenager who was convicted of fatally shooting an Australian baseball player three years ago.

Chancey Luna was tried as an adult in the killing of 22-year-old Christopher Lane, who was shot to death while jogging along a road in southwestern Oklahoma. Luna, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In a court filing, Luna argued that life-without-parole was an unconstitutional sentence for a juvenile, and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals agreed. The panel upheld Luna's conviction and ordered a resentencing.

Lane was a native of Melbourne, Australia, and was about to start his senior year at East Central University in Ada.